I have just come back to Germany following a spell of work in England I injured myself and I must register fór arbeitslos geld II for this I need Aufenthaltserlaubnis .Unfortunatly my 5 year one has run out(2003) they said I cannot extend it if I cant support myself.Please advise if poss Thanks

Sorry for your injury, I hope you'll get well soon. To be able to help, some infos are needed to give you the answer:

1. What is your citizenship ?
2. Do you have currently any residence permit in germany ?
3. What kind of RP for Germany you had before ?

It is true that you cannot get the Arbeitslosengeld 1. without AE, for Arbeitslosengeld 2. should be event harder.

I have benn resident in Germany since 1998 and I have
stayed at the same address.During this period for
employment reasons I have travelled to England 3 times
each time about 4 months and Norway about 4 months.I
am registered as a self employed Bricklyayer in
Germany .I was working in England this summer also on a self
employed basis from May to September.I returned to
germany at the end of October with a view to returning
to England to work after a couple of weeks.On the
third of November I had an Accident.I twisted my knee
and suffered a torn Crusciate Ligament.I had Surgery
and a cartilage was also removed.
This obviously changed my plans.On the 24th of
November due to my financial situation I went to the
Arbeitsamt in order to claim Social Benefit.I was then
given some forms to fill in and I should return them
in person on the 30th
when I was also to have an Interview in order to claim
benefit.I had a dipute with the Interviewer (thats
another matter)This prompted me to complain to the
European Ombudsman.I was then given another
interview(with a different person) on the 9th of
December which went Ok.But I was told that it would be
14 days before I recieve a reply.I recieved a Phone
call today from the Lady who interviewed me asking me
for an Aufenthaltsgenehmigung.Like a green card.I have
one of these so I looked at it and it has unfortunatly
run out.So today I contacted the necessary Office in
order to get a new one.Iwas told I cannot have a new
one if I am unable to support myself .As you can
imagine I am in a bit of muddle as to what to do
next.Due to the lengthy process I am now in a position
with no money and I cant pay my rent and I cant work.I
have never had private medical Insurance and I dont
have any savings.I have only found this website by
scouring the Internet this evening.If it is at all
possible for you to help me I need a reply as soon as
possible Per E mail or telephone.It would be better if
it is in English but German is also OK.I would be
extremly grateful for some advice
Yours Sincerely
The above is a copy of a letter I sent to a help organisation this week but it takes 8 days to get a reply I need help quicker
Thanks for your reply

Mmm... Your case is complex and not typical for this forum. There are a few on forum which are self-employed, but with self-employed and arbeitslos there isn't much experience here.

From my experience I do not have any idea at the moment how to help you, sorry. Having a job is general condition for extension of residence in Germany.

"I have one of these so I looked at it and it has unfortunatly run out."

So easy.. ? you are living in a foreign country, doing business in England and you dont care about your residence permit's expiry date ? you dont even know whether you have a residence permit or not.. is it such a tiny detail for you ? looks like this "tiny" detail is preparing your end in Germany.. I am afraid you were illegal in Germany for "some" time and probably also in England..
you have to tell us the details otherwise we can not help you.. your nationality ? your (last) residence permit's expiry date and type.. why didnt you apply for a residence permit renewal in due time ?

Regards,

Lacrima

Hi Lacrima
I am not about to be on the way out of Germany I am English and a E.U citizen.I only came back to Germany for a short stay when I got injured.
Dave

Dave,

I think you are in entirly different place to get the help which you need. Since here most of us are foreigners and especially from poor/developling countries. So we know more things about our visa / working permission and so on, you are a EU citizen meaning you are native of this continent as well. Generally we get information from EU citizens about our working / legal status / rights. Unfortunatly i donot think someone in here could help unless he/she is here for some (over 15) years and knows EU citizens rights. You can get lot of information on the foreign office and as a EU citizen you've special office, which can provide you more information. If anyone (among us) knows little or more information also can contribute to this thread.

"I am not about to be on the way out of Germany I am English and a E.U citizen.I only came back to Germany for a short stay when I got injured."

so you are totally wrong in this forum anyway but I still have difficulties to understand why you want to claim social benefit in Germany ?? Can't("a" pronounced like a strong "a" not like "e" ) you do that in England as an UK citizen ?? or the great British Economy with %4 jobless rate does not offer such benefits ???

I must also mention that for an English native speaker, your written English is quite poor and that is why I could not realise at the first hand that you were actually English..

Regards,

Lacrima

@lacrima

A person from from UK which intern is a EU country, i could not understand that why he was looking for Aufenthalterlaubnis? and which "ran out". I thought anyone from EU does not need any "Aufenthalterlaubnis" in EU/EEA member state. I also thought any EU citizen has a right to work in any EU/EEA member state, why someone from EU need Arbeitserlaubnis? as Mr. Dave said in previous post, he can't work. If i'm wrong, could you or someone correct me?

EU citizens do not need "Arbeitserlaubnis", but they though need some kind of "Aufenthaltserlaubnis".

@instructor
Free movement of people is not really that "free" in EU. For visits up to 3 months in EU states, there is no need for residence permit for EU citizens.(Excluding the newly joined ones with the exception of South Cyprus and Malta)

If you want to stay more than that, then you have to get a residence permit and a proof of financial support. (a job does it) This process is a formality and the residence permit can not be refused for EU citizens
(Authorities want to keep track of the EU-foreigners living in the country.. there are also no salary limit and job market checks of any sort for EU citizens in EU.)
but if you dont have a job and any financial support and just want to stay in Germany(or any other EU state) and claim social benefit.. well that is not so ok.. but still for an EU citizen, it should be doable, in case that person already paid taxes and social contributions in the state in which he is claiming the benefit.. Otherwise as an EU citizen, I would travel to Sweden for 6 months, get some social help there and travel to Finnland and get some there and than in Germany.. Do you see my point ? There is some room for abuse and some "clever" EU citizens can take advantage of it.. we should also consider the fact that not all states of EU are that "social".. As an example.. I can work in England with low tax rates and without any social care contribution and travel to Germany as soon as I get jobless/sick and claim health care in Germany as an EU citizen because Germany takes care of every citizen living on his soil.. Authorities shouldnt allow such abuses..

and regarding this special case, I guess, we dont know all the details.. therefore it is not that easy to reach a conclusion here..

Regards,

Lacrima

@lacrima

Thanks for the information, now the things are more clear to me.